Music History Today: January 10, 2021

January 10, 2016: David Bowie dies at age 69 after an 18-month battle with liver cancer.

David Bowie has died many deaths yet he is still with us. He is popular music’s ultimate Lazarus: 

David Bowie Blackstar art

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Just as that Biblical figure was beckoned by Jesus to emerge from his tomb after four days of nothingness, Bowie has put many of his selves to rest over the last half-century, only to rise again with a different guise. 

Read more: Pitchfork

January 10, 1945: Rod Stewart is born in London, England.

Known for his signature raspy voice, British singer-songwriter Rod Stewart performed in several U.K. bands in the 1960s. Embarking on a solo career, "Maggie May" became his first hit single in 1971. 

Moving to the United States in 1975, Stewart's hit songs included "Tonight's the Night" (1976) and "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (1978). He experienced a career lull during the 1980s and only had a few hits in the 1990s, but came back strong singing the classics in the 2000s, winning a Grammy Award for best traditional pop vocal album in 2004.  

Read more: Biography

January 10, 1964: The Beatles release their first album in the US: Introducing... The Beatles.

Introducing... The Beatles is the first studio album released by the English rock band the Beatles in the United States. Originally scheduled for a July 1963 release, the LP came out on 10 January 1964, on Vee-Jay Records, ten days before Capitol's Meet the Beatles!. 

The latter album, however, entered the U.S. album chart one week before the former. Consequently, when Meet The Beatles! peaked at No. 1 for eleven consecutive weeks, Introducing...The Beatles stalled at No. 2 where it remained nine consecutive weeks.  

Read more: Wikipedia

January 10, 1976: The North American fascination with CB radios helped push C.W. McCall's truck driving song, "Convoy" to the top of the Billboard Pop chart.

That the 1976 song "Convoy" was created by a fictional musician is perhaps the least interesting thing about it. 

C.W.McCall

Attributed to singer-songwriter C.W. McCall — a character originally invented and performed by advertising executive Bill Fries for a bread company's ad campaign — the song tells a tale of truck drivers protesting government regulations on a struggling industry. It features a conversation between them as they drive from California to New Jersey, spoken in the truckers' inscrutable vernacular. 

Read more: NPR

January 10, 1985:  Cyndi Lauper became the first female recording artist since Bobbie Gentry in 1967 to be nominated for five Grammy Award.

Pop torchbearer Cyndi Lauper is many things: singer, songwriter, actress, activist and a two-time GRAMMY winner. Early in her career, she memorably performed her 1983 single "Time After Time" at the 27th GRAMMY Awards.

Cyndi Lauper

She won Best New Artist that year, and was nominated for four more GRAMMYs: Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female) for "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," Song Of The Year for "Time After Time," Album Of The Year for She's So Unusual, and Record Of The Year for "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. 

Read more: Grammy

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